TLC
by kmart92
Summary: No one likes to be sick unless you've got a really great nurse to look after you! Is it just the flu that's needed to bring these two together? The story is actually better than it sounds, so please give it a try!
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Never thought I'd want something so desperately as I want to own Rookie Blue and Sam Swarek. Though if it's too much to ask to have both, I guess I'll take Sam.**_

_**So I've read a couple of stories similar to this, but I've always wanted to try it for myself, so here goes. Just so you know, it'll be a 2-shot story but they're completely separate stories, not just following on from each other. Oh, and for the record, this is post-Luke but they never got engaged and he never cheated, it's just over. Also, Sam and Andy aren't together yet. Anyway, moving on… Really hope you all enjoy and I can't wait to hear/read your thoughts. Please REVIEW!  
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"Sam! Seriously, I don't see why you're refusing to acknowledge this. Everyone gets sick, it's not a major deal, but unless you go home and rest, you'll get worse and you'll be off work for like a week instead of a day or two." Andy shot a part-concerned, part-annoyed look at her partner, reaching out to touch his forehead.

"_I_ do NOT get sick! Ever!" Sam flicked her hand away, glaring at Andy who just rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms in a huff. "I'm fine!" But his last word was broken up as he hunched forward, cringing at the painful rattle in his chest as he coughed.

"Hmph! Says the man who just coughed up a lung." Andy shook her head and tentatively rubbed his back until Sam regained the energy to straighten up, though groaning as his bones waged a war against him and his head pounded. He closed his eyes against the sharp light outside, but jolted a second later at the feeling of her cold fingers against his head, brushing a strand of his hair back.

"McNally…" he almost growled out, though realising at this point, talking was not exactly conducive to his condition. Sam looked across, startled to see her so much closer than before, her body leaning forward and her head tilted to the side in concentration, a slight frown clouding her features. _So beautiful_, he thought, relishing the feeling of her so near him again, focusing on her soft pink lips, opened partially, before he began drowning in her gorgeous Bambi eyes.

Andy gently took his head in both hands, examining him, biting on her bottom lip as she unknowingly caressed his face. "Sam, you're burning up! You've got a fever and you're eyes are cloudy, not to mention the dark circles underneath. I think you should see a doctor." Andy moved back when he jerked his head away, fixing him with an offended stare.

"Thank you for your verdict, _Doctor_ McNally, but as I said, I'm fine. Now, if you don't mind, let's get back to the job at hand, shall we?" Sam just stared right back, clearly saying the conversation was done. A couple of seconds later, he started up the squad car and pulled away from the curb.

Andy flung her hands in the air, exasperated and turned to look out the window, determined to ignore him. Only a few minutes passed before she jumped as Sam let out a loud sneeze and felt the car lurch suddenly towards the line of parked cars on the edge of the park, when he momentarily lost control, snivelling and shaking his head to clear the fog.

"That's it! Pull over now!"

"What?" Sam abruptly turned to face her even as he pulled the car to a stop, immediately regretting the action as he bit back a grunt of pain. He scrunched his face up when she demanded the keys, but reluctantly handed them over when Andy softened her tone and touched his arm.

"I have no intention of dying this afternoon, so I think _I'll_ drive thanks." Andy waited while Sam slowly lifted himself from the seat and switched sides with her, instantly putting on his sunglasses to stop the glare and grimaced as another bout of coughs wracked his body. "You're really in no condition to work, you know. You should be at home, tucked in bed with a bowl of soup. I'm surprised Best let you out today."

"Yeah, well, I was ok this morning. And there's no way I'm gonna spend my day sitting at home doing nothing." Sam's voice was barely above a low hoarse whisper, his fingers rubbing circles at his temples to try and quell the throbbing.

"Ah, so you admit that you're sick!"

"I never said that…"

"No, but you're worse than you were this morning, and now you look terrible." Without telling him what she was doing, Andy indicated left and took the next street back in the direction they came, hoping she'd get nearer to their destination before he realised.

Though getting groggier by the second, Sam managed to peel his eyes open to glance around and even in his weakened state, her route 'ding'ed something in his mind. He turned to her with a scowl etched on his face. "We're not going back to the station, McNally, so you can just turn the car back around and keep driving."

"Best told me to report back to him if your condition deteriorated, so I'll let him decide for himself." Andy kept her eyes focused on the road straight ahead, knowing instinctively that Sam was taking a deep breath to stop himself from yelling.

"McNally!" He groaned a little and immediately dropped his voice. "I'm _telling_ you, I'm _not_ going home, so just get that thought out of your head right now! Turn the car around, McNally, that's an order!" Even whispering, she knew Sam was mad as hell.

"Well, whether you like it or not, s_ir_, I'm not your rookie anymore, and I take my orders directly from Best, so you'll just have to deal with that when we get there." With a clunk, Sam dropped his head back against the seat, staring up at the ceiling as if to ask, '_Why me?'_ She let the silence hang for the couple of minutes it took to reach the station.

Drifting off to sleep, Sam only became aware of her parking the car when he heard the slam of her door, and winced as the noise echoed through his head. By the time he basically crawled back into the station, he saw Andy wildly waving her arms around, mostly in his direction as she no doubt complained about how ill he was. As Best made his way over to him, eyes noting his hunched figure, Sam had pretty much given up the fight anyway, simply nodding as he vaguely heard the order to go home and take the next day off as well, to make sure he was as good as new for the Saturday night shift.

Slinging his bag over one shoulder, Sam emerged from the locker room to see McNally propped up against the opposite wall, waiting for him. Without another word, she took his bag and prised open his fingers to snatch the keys.

Tiredly and lacking any sort of energy for argument, Sam just looked at her. "What are you doing?" He wheezed around the words and sighed as she just walked off, following her like a lost puppy. Not even making the effort to issue a warning about driving his precious baby carefully, Andy knew he was slowly accepting just how sick he was.

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They were almost back to his place before she spoke again. "I'm supposed to look after you so you're better for the next shift. Best gave me tomorrow off as well, and before you say anything, I'm just obeying his directions so don't even bother protesting." She watched as Sam opened his mouth, but then thought better of it and just nodded, leaning against the window and closing his eyes. He didn't even notice the truck stop at the local chemist, only faintly conscious of Andy's soft tugging on his arm.

"Sam? You're home." Her voice was small and worried. Sending her a tiny smile in thanks, Sam obediently trudged into his house and flopped on the bed, not even exerting a little effort to take his shoes off. Andy followed behind him shortly, stopping by the kitchen to collect a glass of water, before finding him sprawled out and already floating off to sleep. Pulling off his shoes and socks, and rummaging through his draws, Andy ran a hand through his hair, a grin tweaking at the corner of her lips as she looked down at him.

Rousing him gently, Andy wordlessly handed him the pyjama pants she found and turned away, blushing, busying herself with the medicines as he undressed without thought. At the sound of his voice, she looked over to find him snuggled beneath the doona and watching her expectantly.

"Where'd you get all that stuff?" He spat the last word out bitterly as he warily eyed the concoction she was mixing up and the little pile of pills resting near the water.

"I stopped in at the drugstore while you were dozing." Andy passed him the bright orange mixture, chuckling as he wrinkled his nose after sniffing it. "Yeah and it doesn't taste any better, but try to drink it, it's a sure fire remedy for the flu." He glugged it down in a gulp, pulling an adorable face as he stuck his tongue out in disgust. She placed the little mound of tablets into his hand and replaced the glass with the water, motioning for him to down them as well. Replacing the glass on the bedside table, Andy gently pushed him back down, arranging his pillow under his head and pulled up the doona, tucking him in. Impulsively, she dropped a kiss to his forehead, drawing back quickly when she heard his small gasp.

An awkward silence engulfed the room, as Andy fiddled with a corner of the doona before looking away to collect the glasses. Sam just lay there with a shocked, nervous and awed expression on his face. Swallowing roughly, Sam reached out to touch her elbow. "Andy, you shouldn't be here." Seeing the glimmer of sadness and hurt, Sam quickly continued, "I don't want you getting sick as well."

The brightness in her eyes returned as she realised he was only looking out for her. Smirking, Andy sauntered around the bed, climbing in beside him, ignoring his questioning glance. "I already had a flu needle, which _obviously_ someone else was too stubborn to get. And besides, it's Best's orders, Sam. Guess you're stuck with me for the next couple of days."

Sam let his eyes drift shut, the remnants of a smile graced his face as he murmured, "I think I can handle that". He looked so cute, that she almost wanted to cuddle up against him, but she refrained and instead went to rustle up something for dinner.

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He woke to light footsteps down the hallway and the smell of chicken soup. Propping himself up with some pillows, Sam ran a hand through his hair, spiking it up a little, blinking as the lights of the lounge room glimmered into his bedroom. He was greeted with a wide toothy grin as Andy came bounding through his doorway, juggling a tray of soup and toast.

"Hey! You're up!" She immediately discarded the tray on the bedside table and felt his temperature, nodding to herself as if she was pleased with his progress. "Feeling any better?"

_She's here, in my house_, was the thought that never completely occurred to him before, but now was hitting him full force, making his heart beat a staccato rhythm against his chest as he breathed in her scent, albeit through a partially blocked nose. Sam took a few seconds to regain his normal thinking capacity before he dared to answer. "I feel like death warmed up, but overall, considering what I was this afternoon, not too bad. You, uh, you make a good nurse, McNally." He loved the blush that crept up her cheeks and how her eyes widened marginally before she lowered them, embarrassed and focused on the meal she'd prepared.

Andy plonked back down next to him again and they ate in relative silence until Sam started scraping the bowl with his spoon, then resorted to using the bread to mop up any skerrick left. "Good huh?"

"You've been holding out on me, McNally. All this time, I never knew I had a masterchef in my midst." Sam looked up to see her beaming at him, her face glowing with the praise.

Andy ducked her head a little, trying to reign in her pleasure. "It's only chicken soup, Sam."

He reached out to cup her chin. "No, it's really good, Andy," then to change the tone which was getting far too serious for his liking, "I'll have to get you to cook for me more often."

"Ha! Not likely. The best you'll get out of me from here on in is cold pizza and re-heated Thai." Andy leaned forward and plucked the bowl out of his grip, swapping it for more pills and water.

Sam pouted, fluttering his eyelashes at her and adopted the most pitiful expression he could muster. "But I'm sick!" he whined, making him sound like a 5 year old.

"Oh, sure. _Now_ you pull the 'sick' card." Andy sat next to his hip, shooting him a pointed look as he attempted to delay taking his medicine, but reluctantly swallowed them. Unconsciously, she bent her head forward, closer, so she examine his face, patting his cheeks a little, missing the marked darkening of his eyes before his lips acted of their own accord, capturing hers in a hard, lustful kiss. She could taste the soup mixed with cough syrup and found herself following as he just as quickly drew back.

Andy tasted warm and cosy, with a hint of soy sauce, but still as sweet as he remembered. Sam wanted to sink into her, saturate himself with her scent and smother her soft body all over him. A second later, his drug-dulled brain kicked back into action and he panicked. "Shit! Andy, I… I'm so… I'm sorry Andy, I didn't mean to do that I swear… it's just, you were… and I was… and"

She shook her head, a lazy, enamoured smile playing on her lips. Andy cut his rambling short with a finger hushed on his lips, but even then he tried to talk around it. Shifting her body towards him, she dragged his neck forward, fingernails scratching a bit at the short hairs on the back of his neck, before planting her lips softly on his, swallowing his satisfied sigh. Licking her way into his mouth, Andy savoured the feel of him around her, grinning against his lips as Sam lifted her fully onto him, knees either side, and dug his hands into her long brown locks that had been enticing him since day 1. _He could die like this and it'd be the best day of his life by far._

Then Sam felt a tingling at the back of his throat and nose, and quickly pushed her back, causing her to crash into his legs in shock. Half a second later, he sneezed, moaning in agony as the feeling reverberated through his skull, shortly followed by the sound of laughter as Andy doubled over in hysterics. "Glad you're finding this amusing, McNally," he drawled, unimpressed, his arms crossed as he waited for her to control herself.

Several moments later, Andy wiped the tears from her eyes and climbed off the bed, gathering the dishes and shaking her head, still unable to help the smirk that had taken up residence on her face. Sam slumped back against the pillows as he watched her saunter out, simultaneously cursing his luck of being sick and thanking his luck stars that she kissed him back, wishing he could spend the rest of his life indulging himself with her.

He could hear her stacking the dishwasher and putting some things away in the fridge, and in the next instant, she appeared. Smiling serenely down at him, Andy pointed to her watch. "Getting late, so I'd better…" she left the sentence hanging in the air for a few seconds before she trailed a hand down his chest, patting it lightly. "See you tomorrow, Sam." Just as she started to leave, he called out to her.

"Andy?" She paused by the doorway, hand resting on the knob. She didn't turn, didn't reply, just waited. He almost preferred it that way, so she wouldn't see the nervousness and longing in his eyes. "W… will," he stuttered a little, unable to force the words out of his mouth that he so badly wanted her to hear. He cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the rough, gravelly tones, "Stay. Will… Andy, will you stay with me?" His eyes darted anxiously over her face as she spun back around to see him. Seeing her stunning flash of teeth, Sam breathed a heavy sigh of relief and beamed back at her.

Andy launched herself at his bed, making sure to land slightly to the left and giggled as he bent down to plant sloppy kisses at her chin. Pushing him away a fraction so she could nestle against his body, intertwining their legs, Andy peered up at him, blissful and ecstatic. "You just had to ask, Sam. I'll stay as long as you want."

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_**Gah, see this is precisely why I should've quit ages ago. The second I try to put an idea on paper, it turns out mushy and unimaginative. Anyway, guess I'm losing enthusiasm for my writing. I hope you like this even a smidgen more than me, cos reviews would be great, especially considering, oddly enough, I'm currently surrounded by tissues and various forms of medicines that I wouldn't have a clue how to pronounce. The fact that my head feels like it's about to explode is gonna be my excuse for the poor writing. But please, take pity on me, REVIEW!**_

_**I hope to have part 2 up soon, but until then, thanks for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: Number 1 on my 'bucket list' – to own Rookie Blue.**_

_**So, I was planning to have this done several days ago but it turns out that being hopped up on drugs and weird herbs is not exactly conducive to writing, especially when looking at the screen for more than a minute gives me a migraine. Anyway, as I said before, this 2nd-shot is completely unrelated to the previous chapter. In a nutshell – Andy and Luke have broken up but McSwarek aren't together…yet! So happy with the response for this story, you guys are awesome! Hope you like this one just as much! Enjoy and don't forget to REVIEW!**_

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She never said anything to him about not coming into work the next day, so he found himself alternating his attention from her conspicuously empty seat at the front, to vaguely listening to Best's instructions for today, but the majority of the time his gaze was fixed on the door, waiting for her to come rushing through at the last moment.

Sam tuned back in time to hear Frank say, "And Swarek, you'll be flying solo today…" _Where the hell was she?  
_

"Sir…?" He had no idea how he was planning on finishing that sentence without drawing attention to himself, so he just left it hang, fully intending to find out by quietly himself and ignore Oliver's intrigued stare.

"What's the matter Swarek? Missing McNally already?" Best grinned, watching Sam roll his eyes as the others cracked up, Noelle nudging him with her elbow as she fought to contain her laughter, completely missing the unimpressed glare Sam shot at her. "It's only a day, Sammy. Surely you can last that long without your fix?" Again, the crowd erupted in guffaws as Sam just stood there with his arms crossed, jaw clenched, waiting for the laughter to die down.

"We done?" His voice was dry and unamused, raising an eyebrow at the rookies who were still grinning, before glancing back at Best.

"Right. Serve, Protect, and let's see if we can survive _one_ day." That brought another round of chuckles, but Sam just pushed off the back table in a huff and stomped outside, already suffering withdrawal symptoms as a frown clouded his face and his shoulders slumped. As Oliver and Noelle made their way out of the parade room, they just caught a glimpse of Sam pulling out his phone as he headed for the cars. The pair shared a knowing look, both shaking their head with a smile and echoing the words, _"He's got it bad."_

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Sam dialled her number three times, each time hanging up in frustration as it rang out and eventually went to message bank.

"_Hi, it's Andy. Leave a message."_

"McNally, uh, it's Sam. Um, you're not answering your phone, obviously, and uh… I didn't know you were off work today, so I'm just checking to see if everything's alright. Please just…. Give me a call back as soon as you get this, McNally. Ok? Ok, bye."

He silently cursed himself for sounding like an overprotective, anxious ass, realising for the thousandth time that he had no right to expect her to account for her whereabouts every minute of the day. Not more than a couple of seconds after he'd hung up, Sam's phone beeped, and he pounced on it, frantically whipping it open to read the message.

'_Sorry, lost my voice so I can't answer the phone. Was gonna text you but I fell asleep. Sorry Sam, see you tomorrow hopefully.'_

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sam started the squad car and heading immediately in the direction of the nearest pharmacy, not even caring that he was on duty.

As he pulled up to her apartment, Sam noticed all the curtains closed, trying to block out every ray of light. He sent a quick text, asking her to open the door, before collecting his bundle from the passenger seat, struggling to juggle all the little packages and bottles, cursing as a box dropped under the front wheel, forcing him to replace everything back on the seat until he could retrieve the fallen item. Staggering up the stairs, Sam leant against the doorpost, waiting, before giving the door a little kick, hollering out her name, eyeing the box that was balancing precariously at the top of his pile.

Hearing his phone vibrate again, Sam groaned, closing his eyes briefly in frustration before shifting everything to the ground and pulling out the offending object. He squinted at it in the sunlight, and hung his head, his hand automatically reaching into his belt to bring out his lock picks. Making quick work of it, Sam nudged open the door while simultaneously bending to pick the bundle, making his way towards where he'd heard a sneeze.

"McNally?" He heard a moan in response as he entered the almost pitch black room, nudging the light switch on with his elbow, but switching it back off a second later as he saw her scrunch up her face and dramatically smother her face under the doona.

"Sorry. I should've thought, but, uh, clearly I didn't." Sam almost tripped over a shoe as he moved towards her, eventually depositing everything on her bed. He knelt down next to Andy, reaching out to pull back the covers. Straining his eyes to see her face, Sam went to open a curtain slightly to let some light in. "Just cover your eyes for a second, I'm just gonna open a curtain." He heard her grunt and presumed she was shaking her head in negative. "Only a little, don't worry McNally."

Sam turned back to see her face burrowed in a pillow, almost completely swamped in tissues that were strewn all over the bed. Taking his place by her bed, Sam brushed some hair out of her face and gently twisted her head. "Jeez, Andy! What happened?" Andy's nose was red and swollen, eyes dull and sunken with dark circles underneath, and her hair spread out on the pillow, tangles everywhere.

Andy opened her mouth but only a squeak came out, before she closed it again and frowned when Sam leapt up and rummaged through his pile and returned a second later with a brand new notepad and pen.

_Flu – I have this annoying habit of losing my voice every time I get sick. _

She saw him grin and about to make a smart-ass comment, so she snatched the paper back, but was still unable to prevent him from getting in one little taunt. "Never thought I'd see the day, McNally! I'll be sure to make the most of this predicament of yours, I might never get this opportunity again!" He was about to continue but instead sighed in defeat as she shot him a half pitiful, half irritated warning that told him to quit now. Andy tapped at the page, turning it around so he could see.

_Don't! Laugh all you want later, but right now, all I want is a little sympathy._

Sam pursed his lips, considering it, but then begrudgingly held his hands up in defeat, miming the zipping of his lips.

_What're you doing here?_

Sam nodded as read her note, taking a few moments to sift through all possible answers and eventually found a safe one. "Can't leave my partner in distress, can I?" He smoothed down her hair and placed the back of his hand over her forehead. "You've got a fever. You shouldn't have all these blankets on, you'll burn up."

Andy pouted and grabbed the pen again. _I'm fine_. She looked up to see him staring at her with his usual, hard 'Don't lie to me, McNally' expression, and sighed. She attempted to kick back the covers but gave up after very little effort and flopped back onto the bed, weakly reaching out for the notepad. _Don't have any energy. Just let me lay here._

Sam clucked his tongue and disappeared into her bathroom, walking back with a wet towel in one hand. He folded it up neatly and pressed it to her head, muttering something about it taking her temperature down. Gently lifting back the covers, Sam patted her knees back down as she immediately hugged them to her chest, shivering. "I know, but you have to try and stand it, Andy. It's the only way to get you better quickly."

Andy just sighed, secretly grateful that he was with her, wanting to care for her and as much as it went against her grain, she loved the feeling of him babying her. Andy shot a pointed look over his shoulder, raising a quizzical brow, hoping he'd get the idea without her having to bother with a note. Thankfully, Sam followed her gaze with his own, and turned away to busy himself with sorting through the bundle, picking up several packets of cold and flu tablets and supplements.

"I didn't know what was wrong with you, so I just grabbed everything I could think of." Sam almost shyly avoided looking at her, knowing she was smiling at him, and instead kept his eyes focused on the boxes as he tried to read the instructions, but gave up after very little concentration and just popped one of each into his hand and held it out for her. "These should do the trick."

Andy stared at him for a moment, then at the pills, wrinkling her nose in disgust at a bright blue coloured one, before shrugging, and scooping them into her own hand, trusting that he knew what he was doing. She heard him murmur something and hold up a finger as he dove in amongst the pile again and came up with a bottle of orange juice. Scrutinizing each pill before she swished them down, Andy reached out for the notepad again and scribbled, her handwriting resembling that of a 4-year old.

_Why didn't you get a bag for all that stuff?_

"Seriously, McNally, did you know they'd started _charging_ for those things now?" Sam threw his hands up in the air in slight exasperation. "I mean, come on, 50 cents for a plastic bag? That's ridiculous!"

Andy bit her lip as a soft smile spread across her lips, watching him continue his little tirade through her eyelashes. _And yet everything else must have cost him a fortune_, she thought as her heart thudded against her chest.

Suddenly, seeing her expression, he stopped mid-rant. "What?" Andy shook her head, and detected an uncharacteristic faint pink tinge colour his cheeks in the half a second before he abruptly turned away, telling her he'd only be a moment as he left the room. She watched him with bashful adoration as he brought back a glass of water and grabbed a couple of little medicine bottles that she didn't recognise and stirred in a few drops.

Andy's eyes took in every movement, knowing he was doing this all for her, and relished the swarm of butterflies that were going crazy inside her as he glanced at her and handed her the glass.

"Here you go, drink up." Sam's voice was quiet and a bit rusty, suddenly looking a little nervous as he sat down on the edge of her bed. He saw her sniff at it and look up at him, questioning. "It's just Echinacea and Olive Leaf Extract. It may taste a bit nasty but it'll cure anything you've got."

_Shouldn't you be working?_

"Nah, I won't be missed. You come first, McNally." She saw his eyes widen a bit before he cleared his throat, trying to dispel the seriousness of his words. "Just, uh… just lie back and rest for a while, Andy. I'll be back. I've just gotta… um, I'll make you something to eat, ok." Sam didn't bother waiting for her to nod, but simply retreated, taking what she thought was an avocado with him.

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Flopping heavily on her sofa, Sam sighed deeply, scrubbing a hand over his face as he pulled out his phone. After a couple of rings, a familiar voice answered.

"Frank, it's me. I suppose you heard McNally's sick?" Sam tried to think of how to word his request while Best answered in affirmative. "Well, uh, I've just checked on her and…"

"_Figured as much,"_ Frank interrupted with a chuckle. _"Shaw said you rang her and then you just went AWOL." _He shook his head, rolling his eyes as he snickered a bit more. _"So? How is she doing? I presume you're still at her place."_

"Yeah, uh… she's not feeling so great at the moment, but once the medicine kicks in hopefully she'll be ok soon." Sam coughed before continued, even though he had a feeling Best knew what was coming. "Um, I thought maybe you'd like to give me the rest of the day off to, you know, look after her and…"

"_I thought you two weren't together yet."_

"We're not, it's just…"

"_Oh, I _see_! You're wanting to nurse her back to health! Sam Swarek, knight in shining armour!" _Best's voice laughed down the line. Eventually he realised Sam had gone quiet and wasn't even bothering to deny it. _"Sorry. No can do, Sammy. You're on duty and with one officer out already, we need all the help we can get."_

"Come on, Frank! There's nothing major happening today, you don't _need_ me. I'll keep my radio on and if an urgent call comes through, I'll take it, but I'm just asking for the small ones to be taken by the others. Please? I wanna stay with McNally." He heard his boss hesitating on the other end, weighing up the options, still reluctant but gradually coming around to the idea. Sam decided to give it one last push. "You owe me, Frank. Consider your debt paid after this."

"_Ha! What debt?"_

"If you'll recall, a coupl'a years ago when you wanted to rendezvous with your, ahem, 'girlfriend', but Boyko was riding your ass all week and had stuck you on desk, along with your poor innocent partner who ended up covering you while you took lunch early, promising to be back within the hour, only to arrive 2 hours late? Ring any bells?"

"You never let things go, do ya? Fine. Do whatever you want, Sam, but now you're out of favours so you'd better make this one worth your while." Best huffed, and Sam could practically envision him leaning back in his swivel chair, arms crossed, a scowl probably marring his face for the rest of the day. He figured he'd get over it eventually, more than likely by the time tomorrow rolled around. From that point on, there was not much else to say and Sam was eager to get back to Andy, so he said his goodbyes and headed straight for the kitchen.

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Andy could faintly hear him talking to someone on the phone, but couldn't make out any actual words. Blowing her nose for the umpteenth time, she groaned in agony and let her head drop back onto the pillow, sighing at its softness and slowly drifting off. Several minutes later, she heard footsteps drawing closer to her room, and gradually fluttered her eyelids until they didn't feel nearly as heavy and managed to groggily make out Sam's shape walking towards her.

Blinking a couple of times, her vision became clearer and she noticed he came bearing a plate in one hand and a little rubbish bin in the other. Thrusting the plate into her hands, he collected all her mass of tissues into the bin with a huge sweeping motion, then set about piling all the boxes of pills on her bedside table. Satisfied that everything was neat and within easy reach, Sam turned back to see her just lying there, closely observing his movements and suddenly felt a little self-conscious.

In an attempt to get her attention away from studying his face, Sam noticed she hadn't touched her food and so pointed at it, motioning for her to eat. "It's avocado toast. My mum used to make this for me when I got sick. It's pretty plain, but you need to eat something to keep your energy up and avocado's the best thing for you." Taking in her blank look, Sam continued, "It's got tons of vitamins and nutrients, so eat up kiddo." He watched her sit up, removing the wet cloth when it dropped from her head, and take a tentative nibble on a corner, then gratified that it actually tasted reasonably good, took a much larger bite. Smirking in satisfaction, Sam backed out of the room, pausing at the end of the bed only for a second to pick up another box, and humming quietly to himself, he boiled some water and rummaged around in her kitchen cupboards till he found the jar he was looking for.

Setting the plate aside, Andy looked back towards her bedroom door as Sam returned, this time with a mug of something she couldn't quite place, especially considering her nose was blocked, and a teaspoon. He handed her the teaspoon first, and she noticed it was mounded with honey.

"Eat it slowly, it'll help your throat heal." Following his directions obediently, Andy licked the last remnants off the spoon and put it on the table, shifting her legs over a bit and patting the bed. Sitting near her hip, Sam leaned forward to feel her forehead again, and pleased that she wasn't overheating anymore, passed her the mug. "Rosehip tea. My mum swears by it. Sip it as much as you can while it's hot."

Peering into the mug, she saw a dark red liquid. Dipping a finger into it at first to taste it, Andy took a gulp, relaxing as the warmth spread through her body. Fumbling until her hand touched the notepad, Andy scrawled something and pushed it closer to Sam.

_You're a great doctor. Maybe I should get sick more often._

Sam snorted, shaking his head. "Nah, I don't like you being sick." He knew he was about a couple of seconds away from revealing at least part of his feelings, but couldn't find it in himself to care. Frank was right, better make it worth it. If truth be told, Sam _wanted_ to tell her, to finally let go of some of the aching in his chest. So, he took a deep breath, "Besides, I miss the other McNally already. The one who's constantly yapping my ear off about the weirdest things. The one who's allergic to silence – or used to be, now apparently she's allergic to talking as well!" he winked at her, loving the glower that shaded her face. Sam grinned as she rolled her eyes, mad that he was riling her up and she couldn't even respond.

"Feeling better?" She nodded, taking another sip, quickly forgetting that she was peeved at him. "Good." He allowed himself the liberty of tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, trailing his thumb along her check before he regained control and dropped the hand back into his lap.

Andy reached a hand out for him, grasping his shoulder, softening her eyes and blinking at him, willing him to understand her. "Sam…" she managed to croak out in a quiet, raspy whisper.

He clutched her hand also, letting his fingers slide in between hers. "S'okay, Andy," he murmured tenderly, lifting her hand to kiss her knuckles, closing his eyes briefly at the feeling of her skin. When he opened them again, Sam saw her beautiful brown eyes mirroring every emotion he felt when he was around her.

Never breaking eye contact for a moment, Andy penned just a few more words that made his heart soar.

_Don't know what I'd do without you, Sam._

Shifting their hands so they covered his heart, Sam let his other hand linger under her chin, fingers tipping it up slightly. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

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_**FIN**_

_**Voila! Another one bites the dust! I've loved writing this story and I think I've done an ok job with it, so hopefully you'll all think so too. Can't wait to read your opinions, so pleeeeeaase review! **_

_**As always, thanks so much to everyone who review, favourite-d and even just read it, it means a lot to me. But to the reviewers, and extra special thank-you!**_

"_**Jelly Bean Jenna; rbfan624; Exuperance18; elizabethb; anon; Caramel Mocha; Biddy429; McSwarak-lover656; J; Kate6114; ariel133; SMchick; Carol; ; linda p; melbell; Robb89; edge15684; Jessiemarie; snapple79; dcj; Googiebe." You guys are awesome!**_

_**So, I've decided that I'll try to get all my one-shot and two-shot ideas published before Season 3, so wish me luck. I foresee lots of 2am frantic writing stints for my near future! 21 days and counting!**_


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